moonclips vs speed loaders

[bongfoo]

hello all,
well as the title says, i'm picking up my first revolver on the 7th. it just happens to be a S&W686. i was wondering.... i know i can use speedloaders with the 686 but what about moonclips? and one more question. seeing as how a 38 special, 357 magnum, and 9mm luger all have the same diameter casing/bullet. i can fire the 38 and 357 out of the 686 but what about the 9mm? i noticed that it does have a different rim area. i have heard some ppl talk about shooting 9mm out of their 686. do i have to have anything done to it? could someone edumacate me on this subject?

[rivviepop]

An unaltered 686 like you're picking up can only use speedloaders, and will not chamber a 9mm round. If you wish to use moonclips you'll have to send the cylinder off to a place like tkcustom.com to get a channel cut out of it (they have a cool video showing them machining the cylinder). They will also bore out the cylinder to allow you to shoot 9mm, but then you can't shoot 38/357; the 9mm base is wider than a 38 base.

See here: http://www.moonclips.com/content/machine.asp

[bongfoo]

that was a cool video! so i'm guessing i should buy a second cylinder maybe a third. have them machined out for the moonclips and then have one of them bored out for 9mm. that will leave me with the origional cylinder for if i ever want to sell it (yeah right!)

[tiko]

When you shoot 9mm on a 686 it does not have great accuracy, my friend got a second cylinder made for 9mm head space ( no moon clip needed ), but he isn't pleased with its accuracy. The 9mm bullet diameter is .355, the 38/357 bullet is .357 ( .358 with lead bullet). 0.002 can make a difference.

[railroader]

When you shoot 9mm on a 686 it does not have great accuracy, my friend got a second cylinder made for 9mm head space ( no moon clip needed ), but he isn't pleased with its accuracy. The 9mm bullet diameter is .355, the 38/357 bullet is .357 ( .358 with lead bullet). 0.002 can make a difference.

When I had my 686 I have loaded 9mm bullets into 38 cases. The accuracy definitely isn't on par with 38 cal bullets. Mark

[bongfoo]

has anyone tried loading 357 bullets in 9mm casings???

[precisionshooter308]

My 686p was converted by TK custom. WAY COOL. You can still use speed loaders if you want or loose ammo. Well worth the money.

[Lucky Scott]

Wow, nice setup. Something to think about.
I am happy with the .38 so not really into converting to a 9mm but I really like the moon clip deal!

[762cavalier]

has anyone tried loading 357 bullets in 9mm casings???

would only work with lead bullets and you may have to size them down a bit. 9mm bullets are .355-.357bullets are .357-.358 It would work and I know of a few cast bullet shooters who use .357bullets sized down with some decent results.